Question 1

Should I hire someone as a contractor or as an employee through an EOR?

Accepted Answer

Worker classification is determined by the facts of the working relationship under the law of the country where the person works, not by what the contract calls the arrangement, so this is much less of a free choice than most comparisons suggest. The Treasury regulation defining a common law employee states that where an employer and employee relationship exists, the parties' designation of it as anything else is immaterial [5], and the IRS warns that a contract naming someone an independent contractor is not sufficient to determine that worker's status [4]. Several US states apply a stricter ABC test that presumes employment unless the hiring entity proves the work falls outside its usual course of business [10][11], and other countries run their own tests, including UK rules that put the determination on the client [12] and an EU directive presuming employment for platform work by 2 December 2026 [13]. Where the facts describe employment, an employer of record is the usual way to hire without registering a local entity; where the person genuinely runs an independent business with other clients, a contractor agreement can hold up [3]. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and any real classification call is fact and jurisdiction specific.

Question 2

What's the best EOR / global employment platform (Deel vs Rippling vs Remote)?

Accepted Answer

No single employer of record platform is best for every buyer, because Deel, Rippling, and Remote were built from different starting points and win in different situations. Deel grew out of contractor payments and advertises employment in 150+ countries with Deel-owned entities and a payroll engine in 130+ of them, from $599 per employee per month [1][2]. Rippling grew out of IT and HR system consolidation, and independent research puts its EOR at 80 countries, sold as a module on a base HR platform rather than standalone [7][8]. Remote grew out of an owned-entity model, states that it owns and operates 100% of its entities across 90+ countries at $699 per employee per month, and collects reserve payments only in rare high risk circumstances [5][6]. The axis most buyers skip is whether the provider employs your worker through an entity it owns or a local partner it subcontracts, which changes who carries liability and what happens if that partner relationship ends [3].

Question 3

What's the difference between an EOR and a PEO, and which one do I need?

Accepted Answer

A professional employer organization (PEO) co-employs staff at a client that already has its own legal entity, sharing employment responsibilities under a services agreement while the client stays an employer of its own people [7]. An employer of record (EOR) becomes the legal employer of the worker through an entity it already operates, which is what lets it hire in a country where the client has no entity at all [10]. That difference decides whether you need a local entity, who carries employment liability, how benefits are sourced, and whether either model is available in a given market [10][11]. A US PEO can also hold voluntary IRS certification, and a certified PEO is treated as the employer for federal employment tax on wages it pays to work site employees, which an uncertified PEO is not [1][2]. If you are already a registered employer where the person will work, a PEO usually fits; if you are not, an EOR is normally the only compliant route [10].

Question 4

How much does an employer of record cost per employee?

Accepted Answer

Published employer of record platform fees run from about USD 199 to USD 699 per employee per month, with RemoFirst starting at USD 199, Deel at USD 599, and Remote and Oyster both at USD 699 [4][1][2][3]. That fee is the smallest piece of the bill, because the invoice also carries gross salary and the mandatory employer contributions set by the hiring country, which range from 7.65 percent of wages in the United States to about 45 percent of gross salary in France [9][11]. Across the OECD, employer social security contributions are highest in France, at 26.7 percent of total labor cost [7]. For a mid-level hire the platform fee usually lands between 4 and 8 percent of total employer outlay, before deposits, severance accrual, and currency conversion [3][6][2].

Question 5

What is an employer of record (EOR) and how does it actually work?

Accepted Answer

An employer of record is a company that becomes the legal employer of your worker in a country where you have no legal entity, while you keep directing the actual work [1][3]. It hires the person through its own registered local entity, signs an employment contract that satisfies that country's law, runs local payroll, withholds and remits income tax and social contributions, and administers statutory benefits [1][2]. You pay the provider one invoice covering salary, employer-side contributions, and a service fee, and the provider pays the worker in local currency [2]. The practical appeal is speed, since registering your own entity commonly runs three to twelve months while an EOR can have someone employed in days [2][3]. This is general information about how the arrangement operates, not legal advice.

Global & Distributed Workforce

Should I hire someone as a contractor or as an employee through an EOR?

What's the best EOR / global employment platform (Deel vs Rippling vs Remote)?

What's the difference between an EOR and a PEO, and which one do I need?

How much does an employer of record cost per employee?

What is an employer of record (EOR) and how does it actually work?